Thirty-seven senators are calling on
President Barack Obama to sign an executive order prohibiting
workplace discrimination against gay, bisexual and transgender
Americans by federal contractors.

“Issuing an executive order that
includes sexual orientation and gender identity is a critical step
that you can take today toward ending discrimination in the
workplace,” the senators wrote in a letter to the president. “By
expanding protections for LGBT employees of federal contractors, you
would be helping to ensure that all Americans get an equal
opportunity to succeed and that federal taxpayer dollars are used to
support companies with the best employment practices.”

Obama decided against signing such an
order last year and called on the Congress to pass broader
legislation introduced by Democratic Senators Jeff Merkley of Oregon
and Tom Harkin of Iowa and Republican Senators Mark Kirk of Illinois
and Susan Collins of Maine.

However, the Employment
Non-Discrimination Act (ENDA) has stalled in the
Republican-controlled House.

Defense contractors have been
prohibited from discriminating based on race or national origin since World
War II, and broader anti-discrimination bans have been in place on
all contractors for almost 50 years.